November 2016

April 26, 2013

Welcome for our final day of teacher appreciation. I hope that you are having fun remembering your own school days and that you are having fun making pages for your childhood or that of your children.

LAYOUT IDEA: TEACHERS IN COSTUME

For today's layout idea, we are going to take a minute to remember, applaud, and memorialize those teachers in our lives that go by other names: coaches, instructors, mentors. My kids all do sports and they have terrific relationships with their coaches. My little Lavender spends 15 hours a week in kindergarten, and 9 at gymnastics. It would be foolish of me to not understand the impact that her gymnastics coaches have upon her.

Having a boy in middle school, I have been reminded of the importance of having good coaches. Men (and women) who encourage our children to be their better selves. Adults who can mentor and cheerlead. Who demand improvement. And work to earn respect and who encourage your children to gain their respect. I appreciate the back up for early bedtimes, good sportsmanship, and healthy lifestyles. Then, you get to go to a game and watch your son determinedly earn the respect of a coach; it's a proud parent moment indeed.

Other relationships you might want to remember are sunday school teachers, primary teachers, day care teachers, after school class instructors, student teachers, regular substitute teachers, and youth group leaders. I feel a whole new set of layouts coming on!!

TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFT IDEA: BOOKPLATES

We are blessed with an amazing school system. Our teachers have filled their rooms with books they own. I thought that perhaps a few bookplates would be helpful for them. They could stick them in the classroom books so that they don't get lost in kids' book boxes.

Here is the book plate I designed.

I am going to print them on this sticky back paper. I can get 9 to a sheet so I think I will do 3 of them.

Once I trim them, I can stack them up, and tie them with a ribbon. Poppy is going to pick out a book for her teacher to finish off the perfect gift for Mrs. Johson. I will put it in a brown paper bag and tie it with my favorite red and white twine! Perfect!!

Thank you for spending some time with us this week! I hope we have given you some useful ideas for celebrating the teachers in your lives. As a parting gift, let me leave you with two other gifts you might print.

First, if you need a little something to frame, I found this lovely lovely print.

It was made by Megan from the Balancing Home blog. They have it as a free download. So gracious of them. Be sure to leave a bit of thanks--I'm sure they appreciate thanks for freebies as much as we do!

Lastly, this one made me laugh out loud. In ways I can't even tell you!! It comes from SkipToMyLou.

April 25, 2013

Welcome to day four of our week of teacher appreciation! Have you had your imagination sparked yet? I loved Kelly's idea of documenting favorite college professors. While I have no photos, I am thinking that google would help me be able to find a few! And Amy's water bottles filled with candies were brilliant!

I must admit that I felt a pang of guilt as I read that the first day of school wasn't the best day for photos. Then I remembered that our photos were taken on the "meet your teacher" days that our schools host the week before school starts; and I breathed a huge sigh of relief! I try so hard to not be overwhelming with my camera in the classroom. I have even considered leaving my big camera at home and just taking my little one, but then I remember that when I do, I am inevitably disappointed with the quality, so I just pull up my big girl panties and do my best to not feel awkward.

I digress...

LAYOUT IDEA: JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM

I have a list in my head of all the teachers that I had throughout elementary, junior high, and high school. But the other day I asked my 14 year old if he could remember his second grade teacher and he could not. Ah!!! Appalling!

I am teasing. But I must admit I was a bit surprised. Seems like you might want to be able to look up your teachers' names quickly, no? So our layout idea for today is to create a layout that lists your teachers. You could add a snippet of info for each one, if you would like, or not. No rules.

Here is mine.

Sadly, I did have to call my mom and have her pull out my school memories book for some names. I had completely forgotten a handful of them. So sad.

And I thought I may as well use a similar format for my kids. Here is Nigel's (redacted) page in progress.

This also makes me think I would like to put together a page that puts all my schools down on one page. I don't have photos of mine handy, but will dig some up the next time I go home to my parents'. Because even though I like to pretend things won't change. They do. My elementary school is now an alternative school for people who cannot attend regular school. My junior high was torn down and rebuilt a few years ago. My high school has new wings and additions that make it much less the school than that which exists in my mind. Knowing this, I figured I may as well make the same sort of layouts for my kids. Because chances are good that their schools won't remain the same either.

Amy made a page for her elementary school teachers. Isn't she a lovely little bitty?

I hope you might consider making a page such as these. It shouldn't take too long. Unless your mom is chatty, of course!!

TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFT IDEA:Chocolate

I have yet to meet someone who doesn't appreciate a little chocolate. So I put together a little wrapper for a hershey bar. I made it for the big one. Hopefully you will be able to find that size where you are!

I added a copy for you in our printables if you would like to download one. You should be able to print it, trim it, wrap and adhere. Ca c'est tout!

April 24, 2013

Hey there, I am happy to be posting about some photo tips for capturing your child's relationship with his or her teacher. I was a teacher before I had my sweet children, so I have plenty of experience both as the teacher and the parent.

First, and foremost, make sure that you ask or let your child's teacher know that you are going to be taking some pictures. They expect that you are going to want to capture some of your child's school experience, but it's always nice just to make sure.

If you are looking to get some candid, action shots, do your best to do so during a classroom party or another time that the teacher is expecting parents. Try turning off your flash so it's not going off and disturbing the activities.

If you want some posed shots, try emailing the teacher and asking when would be a good time to do so. Parents always want first day of school photos, but that is usually a super busy and stressful time for not only the children, but also the teacher. It might not be the best time to ask the teacher to stop what she's doing to take a picture. Nobody will know that you waited until the 2nd week of school to take your child's first day photo. :)

Classrooms usually have wonderful, natural light, so make sure you take advantage of that light when positioning yourself to get that great picture.

Here is a photo from Francine, which is too cute! Francine said, "My tip is just to be brave enough to ask! I really wasn't sure if she would agree (I was the only parent with a camera! lol) but she was fine with it. I'm really happy that I got these since he changed schools just two months later when we moved. So when in doubt, ask!"

Layout Idea: Capture the Action

These pictures of me reading to my students were taken by my assistant, and I love that I have a layout showing me at work.

Teacher Appreciation Gift Idea: Water Bottles

A couple of years ago, I made this gift for my child's teachers. They loved them, and they were so easy to make. I just purchased a cool water bottle, filled it with their favorite candy and added a tag.

I can't wait to see how you capture your child's relationship with his or her teacher, and make sure to let them know that they are truly appreciated.

April 23, 2013

Hi everyone! Kelly, here, with day two of teacher appreciation week ideas. I have a soft spot in my heart for teachers, having taught writing for almost eight years before taking a "mommy sabbatical." At times I felt like teaching was one part stand-up comedy, one part referee-ing, and one part psychology! But at the same time, teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs I can think of.

LAYOUT IDEA: FAVORITE TEACHERS

With that in mind, today we celebrate our "favorite" teachers. I have several, and they are my favorites for different reasons. I will always remember my third grade teacher, Miss Crenshaw, who introduced me to aerobics, bran muffins, and cursive. I used to leave anonymous notes on her desk, and she played along with me for quite awhile, writing me back. I loved her energy and the way she made each of us feel special.

I also had a few professors in college who inspired and encouraged me. My senior year, I was invited to participate in a "Top Prof" night for members of Mortarboard, a national honor society. I got to invite one of my favorite professors of all time to an awards dinner. Here I am, in the photo on the left, with Dr. Ted Andra from the English Department:

And in the photo on the right is another one of my favorite professors, Dr. David Lancy, who was also invited to the dinner by another student. Dr. Andra taught me to consider the beauty of literature, and Dr. Lancy encouraged me to chase my dreams.

This is a page from a very simple scrapbook I assembled shortly after I graduated from college. It is a spiral-bound album with black cardstock pages. I used clear adhesive photo corners for photos, and a white gel pen for journaling. Very simple, but effective. I'm so happy I have these photos!

Marnie also sent me a layout about favorite teachers:

I love that Marnie thought to take a photo on the first day of school and the last day, too. What fun to compare the two! She also explains specifically why Mrs. Woodruff is perfect for Poppy. What makes a teacher a perfect fit for your child?

I also recently made a layout about two special teachers in my daughter's life. Last year was her first in a French Immersion program. Half of her school day is taught in English, and the other half in French. The whole family was a bit nervous about this, but her two teachers, Mrs. Joyner and Monsieur Levitre were amazing! They formed a bond with all the students in their two classes, and by the end of the year, we were all sad to move on to second grade.

These photos were taken at a special year-end program they put together for all the families of the students. Josie played a cat in a French play (explaining her whiskers!) and the kids sang songs (in both French and English) and recited poetry. There wasn't a dry eye in the place when they sang "We're All In This Together" from High School Musical!

TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFT IDEA: A "SCENTSATIONAL" YEAR

For teacher gifts this year, I found some incredibly good smelling hand soaps, and I plan on making a tag that reads, "Thank you for a 'SCENTSATIONAL' year!" I'm thinking of combining it in a basket with some other good-smelling stuff. For a few other teacher gift ideas, please visit this site for combos of small gift + giftcard + cute saying, or this site for some inexpensive crafty gift ideas. I love them all!

I also have a class gift idea that I used earlier this year when one of my daughter's teachers had to move mid-year. We held a "Bon Voyage" party for her, and created a thumbprint tree for her to take with her. I drew a tree trunk on an artist's canvas, and then each student added a thumbprint leaf to the tree using green stamp ink in different hues. We had each student sign next to their thumbprint, too, and added the date and a brief message at the bottom. The teacher was so touched by this gesture, and the kids had fun creating it. I wish I had a photo of the completed project, but to get an idea, it looked like these only a bit messier! Here is a photo of the class working on it:

I hope you think about some of your favorite teachers this week, and let them know how much you appreciate all they do!

April 22, 2013

May 7th is Teacher Appreciation day here in the good ol' US of A. I grew up in a family of teachers. My grandmother began teaching when she was 18. She finished school at 15, but then had to wait to start "Normal School" until she was 16. One year later, she had her teaching certificate and began her teaching career. When I was little she was the first grade teacher at the school that my dad went to when he was little. I remember going to her tiny, little country school and classroom in Iron Springs, Alberta, and wishing that she could have been my teacher.

With the respect that I have for teachers there is no way to not celebrate them in fine style! Each day this week we will bring you an idea for your teacher appreciation gifts and then we hope to inspire you with layouts that celebrate teachers and their impact on our lives.

We also wanted to give you time to execute your own projects, as well, so we hope having a couple of weeks will help you do so.

LAYOUT IDEA: THANK YOU FOR CHANGING MY LIFE

A few years ago, I saw a blog (please tell me where it is if you know the name!) where the author wrote a thank you note every week for a year. One of them was written to a former teacher. Reading it made me cry. And made me think of all the teachers that I had over the years, and how grateful I am to them for the ways that they touched my life. I was thinking that I would certainly write to Mr. Boyden my junior high school drama teacher. But I didn't.

However, a few months later I was home for a visit (my first in a three years) when I bumped into Mr. Boyden at a Chinese food restaurant. He had moved across Canada so the chances of us meeting were slim. And not likely to recur. So I gathered my courage and told him directly how much he had impacted my life. And it felt good.

I also realized that I might write and send a few letters, but until I do, I should at least record my thoughts. And I do my best recording when patterned paper is involved!!

I am hoping to slowly put together a mini album of things I learned from my teachers. But for now, I thought one page is a great place to start.

TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFT IDEA: A&W ROOTBEER 4.0

You may remember from last year that we have a family tradition of giving our teachers a sixpack of A&W RootBeer. This will be our fourth year. Here is our updated tag.

Feel free to download it if you would like! With just a hole punch and a ribbon you will be on your way! It's a quick and easy way to put a gift together. And while it isn't homemade in everyway, it always seems very appreciated!

May 04, 2012

I had the most amazing first grade teacher. Mr. Averett was a brand-new teacher that year, so he made an incredible effort to teach us all. He took my shy little self and introduced me to the magical escape portal that is books. He taught me how to carry the one and how to borrow from the tens. He let me see that school was a good (not terrifying, as kindergarten had seemed to indicate) place and that learning was worth the work.

Now that I am a grown up, I confess: I still have an affection in my soul for school. Mr. Averett's example is one reason I became a teacher, and his skill at getting his little students to love learning ignited a flame that's still bright for me. If someone would just pay for it, in fact, I'd be a student my entire life, getting degree after degree.

It was a lucky year for me, first grade!

I'm certain that every one of you reading this has a similar story you could tell, either about a teacher who inspired you or one who changed your child's life. And perhaps it's time to make a layout about just that! Here are a few examples from the WCS team to get you started.

Celeste starts us off with a layout about her son's kindergarten teacher.

I think kindergarten teachers are amazing people. You have to be full of patience and exuberance to manage a classful of five-year-olds! What unique things have your kids gained from their kindergarten teachers? Do you remember your kindergarten teacher?

Celeste also shares a layout about that moment of meeting a new teacher:

Remember how that felt—all that nervous anticipation? What about the experience of watching your child meet his or her new teacher—how did it make you feel to trust this person with your child?

Karen made a layout about the positive impact a great teacher can have and her hopes for her son's learning:

Part of her journaling reads "I always hoped that you'd get to be lucky enough to find one of those teachers. The one that you will remember forever. The one that instilled joy in your heart." I think that is exactly the type of teacher we are all grateful to have. Have any of your kids had teachers like this? Did you? Try journaling about the specific kind of joy they brought.

In this layout

(isn't that an awesome photo?) Karen writes about her son's preschool teachers, who shouldn't be forgotten. Preschool, after all, might just be the funnest school in the history of school! What positive experiences with preschool teachers have your kids had?

Three out of my four kids went to Miss Cathie's preschool, so she's had an enormous impact on our family. In the layout I included a photo of the quilt I made for her when my youngest graduated from her school, which I hoped was a good way of saying "thanks for giving my kids a great start on their education." Try documenting some of the teacher appreciation gifts you give.

Christa took an entirely different approach by scrapping about her appreciation for an entire school:

which really brings up a whole previously-unexplored topic! (At least for me.) How do you feel about your child's school? What do you love, what could be different, what is unique—what's the lunchroom like? You could scrap the same questions about any of the schools you attended, too.

Can I tell you how much I love and adore this concept? In the layout, Erin writes about different elementary school teachers, detailing some specific memories from each grade. (She couldn't find her second-grade photo so she left a blank space for when it turns up.) Once I dig out all of my grade school photos I am totally going to make a layout like this one!

The scope for layouts about appreciating all things scholarly is enormous. Ask yourself how you might show your appreciation for a teacher or two in your scrapbooks. Consider it a homework assignment, due as soon as possible. I'm certain you'll get an A!

May 03, 2012

I am back with one last idea for you this week. I titled this post an insufficient effort as I feel like there is really no way to ever properly say thank you to a person who kindly watches over the growth, academic and otherwise, and hearts, and hopes of our children. I used to send in weekly thank you notes, and still felt it lacking. There is just no way to express how grateful I am.

But that aside, one must try. Today I put together a teacher favorite, my (in)famous fudge. Actually, it is Richard who makes it--I just eat it. Mmmm. I filled the bottom of the cup with the fudge (as the dirt) and then printed off a flower that Poppy can sign on the back. I used lollipop sticks as flower stems as they are food grade appropriate. I like how they turned out!

I will have Poppy sign them before delivery! And straighten that pennant leaf which has gone askew!

If you would like to make some, here is the page I used for the printing. I hope you will download it if it will help you celebrate a teacher in your life!

Thank you for stopping by and for helping us celebrate the teachers in our lives! Tomorrow is going to be filled with layouts! You won't want to miss it!

May 02, 2012

Hi everyone! Paula here with some more ideas for teacher appreciation week.

I don't know about you but I am always scrambling when it comes to teacher gift ideas. Thanks to Pinterest I've got a way of tracking those clever ideas that I can't think of when I need them.

I came across this idea last year when looking for Teacher gifts - "we need s'more teachers like you". I'm a sucker for a pun! I didn't have time to pull it together then but I was determined to get a head start this year! My daughter had three teenage boys teaching Sunday school so I wanted to have a little fun gift to give them.

I purchased large bars of chocolate, a box of graham crackers that had a bunch of smaller packs inside and a large bag of marshmallows (I couldn't find small bags, do they even exist?). Treat bags are pretty small so I used three of them for each gift - one had the bar of chocolate, on the crackers and one had some marshmallows. I attached the three bags together with a topper that I made in Photoshop using my digital scrapbooking supplies. I just loved this cute campfire from Pattie Knox!

If you're not the hand-made gift type you could always go with a thank you card. Here's one I made:

May 01, 2012

I have been a school nerd for as long as I can remember. I loved school growing up, loved school in high school and loved it more than I probably should have in college. Lucky for me, I now get to work in a school also, fulfilling my school nerdiness.

After working alongside some really amazing teachers and now experiencing more outstanding teachers through my girls, I have a newfound love and respect for them. It really can be a thankless job, so today I have a few projects that will be sure to lift their spirits and a great way to say “Thank You”. And as a school staff member I can tell you that these small tokens of appreciation really go a long way and are truly taken to heart!

Who doesn’t love chocolate? I feel like you can’t go wrong with some small treats in a cute mason jar! This was very simple to make and really just entailed decorating the top of the jar and tying a ribbon and tag under the lid. I’ve never made a shaped card before this or without my Silhouette, but this one was super easy to make as well. Just a rectangle, 2 angled cuts then using overlapping papers to create a pencil look.

This gift can not only be useful to your favorite teacher(s), but is also repurposed (double yay!). This is just a very old school Crate Paper chipboard container, but you can use any other container that is about 6-8” high. I covered it with paper and a border, punched out some circles, then placed a letter for that person/teacher on the front. Again, super easy and simple and a great way for teachers to store pencils, etc.

I created another one for my other daughter in brighter colors:

Teachers are always reading or at least holding their place in various books for lectures/discussions/etc. I created these for my daughters for bookmarks, but they can easily be adapted for a teacher as a gift, using their favorite colors or other pretty papers you think they would like.

While looking around Pinterest I found some really great projects that can be made simply for teacher appreciation gifts. Lots of ideas for this year’s gifts for my girls’ teachers!

April 30, 2012

Next week in the United States we will celebrate Teacher Appreciation week. I have a tremendous love and respect for teachers. I think teaching is a noble calling and those who follow their hearts into the world of our children are amazing. I can name all my teachers in order without hesitation or stopping. And even some of the student teachers I had over the years. These women and men changed me and changed my life. I know the same will be true for my children. And yours.

For me, Teacher Appreciation is a day, or week, when I can say thank you. For all they are. And all they do. A chance to express my gratitude for all they are and all they do.

That said, we live in an amazing school district that still has all the extras intact, so Teacher Appreciation week is a little bit crazy around here. My first grader has her homeroom teacher, an art teacher, a music teacher, two wellness coaches, and the librarian. My seventh grader has a different teacher for each subject, totalling eight. Which means I have fourteen gifts. On a budget. A few years ago I started giving A&W six packs. Not super original, I understand, but somewhat affordable. And who doesn't love A&W?

Here is the 2010 effort.

and the 2011 version.

So while I realize it won't be original, this year, the root beer will be back. Besides, now it is tradition, don't you think?

If you would like to try this for your teachers, here is a sheet of tags you can download and trim! There is the teenage version for your child who is mortified and horrified and aghast that you are doing such a thing as bringing his teachers a treat, and then a more cutesy version for those children who don't have to feign such a tough exterior!! :)

You can download the cutesy version here and the teenage version here. Trim them, punch a hole in the top left hand corner, add a ribbon (orange organza for us!) and you are good to go!

Our second project comes from Kelly. Last year she was in charge of teacher appreciation week! Yikes! For their last day, her committee put together Teacher Treat Boxes. Using simple gable-fold boxes, they filled them with supplies that teachers love: post-it notes in cute paper covers...

..., pens, popcorn, cookies, glues sticks, hand sanitizer, etc. She found the tag online, and made a sticker to put on the front that thanked them from the PTA. Kelly assures me that it was a fairly simple project, aside from assembling everything, and the teachers loved getting things that they could use.

How cute are these? I might have to borrow this one if the root beer tradition ever fizzles out. :) I love the idea of useful items. Very clever! Thank you, Kelly!

And thank you for stopping by today! We love having you and inspiring you! And did I forget to mention that this whole week will be filled with sweet, simple, and doable ideas to help inspire you to say thank you to your teachers? It's true!! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for another idea! Happy day!